'This fasting...is very good, provided the commandments of the Lord be observed...First of all, be on your guard against every evil word, and every evil desire, and purify your heart from all the vanities of this world. If you guard against these things, your fasting will be perfect.' - The Shepherd of Hermas

Telling someone to ask Jesus into their hearts has a very typical result, backsliding. the Bible says that a person who is soundly saved puts his hand to the plow and does not look back because he is fit for service. In other words, a true convert cannot backslide. If a person backslides, he never slid forward in the first place. "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation." (II Cor.5) No backsliding there.

This is not true.

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If you have ever told someone to ask Jesus into their heart (like I have), you produced a false convert. Here is why.

Not necessarily.

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1. It is not in the Bible.

There is not a single verse that even hints we should say a prayer inviting Jesus into our hearts. Some use Rev. 3:20. To tell us that Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts begging to come in.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." There are two reasons that interpretation is wrong.

True.

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2. Asking Jesus into your heart is a saying that makes no sense.

What does it mean to ask Jesus into your heart? If I say the right incantation will He somehow enter my heart? Is it literal? Does He reside in the upper or lower ventricle? Is this a metaphysical experience? Is it figurative? If it is, what exactly does it mean?

That's ridiculous, the metaphor is not lost on many and this really gives less credence to his premise.

Skipping the next several ...

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7. It presents God as a beggar just hoping you will let Him into your busy life. This presentation of God robs Him of His sovereignty.

Here I agree somewhat and maybe it's the best place to put my impression after reading through it earlier. Its mixed, but ultimately he fails here. Part of me does not like the particular language at all - The "asking ... or [i]making Jesus your Lord and personal Saviour[/i] always leaves me with a connotation that sounds more like "[i]Your personal servant[/i]". Ssomeone to rescue you in a bind or do special favors on your behalf. Am using my own hyperbole here, but at bottom it usually makes me cringe because it sounds like a sales pitch, even "[i]asking Jesus into your heart[/i]".

The problem with all this however is, like others have mentioned and I would have to wonder just how many still going strong did something exactly like this? Really, it seems to me that he is chastising the wrong element, the recipients - If anything it ought to be directed at the ... sellers .. for lack of a better term.

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10. Here is the scary one. People who ask Jesus into their hearts are not saved and they will perish on the Day of Judgment.

Hard to believe anyone could make such a statement or assume such a thing ... It begs the earlier admission;

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If you have ever told someone to ask Jesus into their heart (like I have), you produced a false convert.

One would have to wonder if he has gone back to all those that he told the former and made a correction ...

Very poor. Even if there is a great deal to be said against it, this is even more wrongheaded.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." There are two reasons that interpretation is wrong.

The context tells us that the door Jesus is knocking on is the door of the church, not the human heart. Jesus is not knocking to enter someones heart but to have fellowship with His church.

Jesus said:

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any [b]man[/b] hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to [b]him[/b], and will sup with [b]him[/b], and [b]he[/b] with me.

If men of old like Albert Barnes and Adam Clarke and many other pre-apostasy-era men refer to "the heart" in their commentaries on Rev 3:20 - than that will stand good enough for me.

Have an e-sword, check these "men of old" on Rev 3:20.

2009/6/1 0:33

bible4lifeMember

Joined: 2009/1/21Posts: 1558Locport, Illinois

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Paul washer preaches totally against the sinners prayer and asking jesus into your heart, he actually in one of his sermons says he is at war against it. I actually noticed on here many have not listened to more of his sermons, i wonder why. He speaks truth but biblical truth, todd friel is saying what is according to the Bible, so he has the right to say something. The Bibles to believe the gospel with our hearts, repent and believe the gospel, it does not have any verses on asking christ to come into our hearts, but it says believe with your hearts on the lord jesus. Maybe you were saved after you said you asked him into your heart but wasn't that you had a heart that was repentant and wanted to be saved and you believed on the lord jesus for salvation, i think God looks at our hearts intentions, and we must have had a repentant heart and believed on the lord jesus. As much as you want to justify this it is unbiblical and this would have never been known but from someone making this up, it is not in the Bible and that is where todd friel is right. Yes you might have been saved by that, but truly it had to be because you had a repentant heart and believed on jesus, that is what saved you.Deepthinker i agree with you, salvation is a work of God, for that person to believe and repent is by the power of God, salvation is by the power of God, my reason for standing for this is that todd friel is right in his assesment that it is unbiblical, but we have no clue how some truuly got saved. My friend has been seeking God but i would never tell him to ask jesus into his heart, i have explained to him Gods holiness, Gods law, how we broke that law, how we fell, how we our god hating sinners and we need to be saved and repent, i have told of the grace of god through jesus christ but i will not tell him to say this prayer or ask him into his heart. God will open his eyes and he will repent and believe on his own accord when God does that.I think the church is wrong in teaching that doctrine.

'Crsschk', had pointed out statements from the article that are too presumptuous which makes us wary in endorsing its scriptural soundness. We must be careful with sweeping statements to avoid putting stumbling to others as the Lord had warned us.

father i ask you to forgive me if i have been wrong at all on my view of this article, i don't how you save all the time so forgive me for being foolish in my words at times and preassuming things when i don't know all things, humble my heart, for i am a wicked man, i have a heart for the complete truth and sometimes i can come on too strong forgive me if i was wrong in anyway in jesus name.

Someone I know asked me to post Todd's letter to get a point of view from SI.

I did that because I was asked, but also because I have been torn lately.

With my limited understanding, this is what I have been experiencing...

I like Poonen, John Mac, and a lot of the past preaching Saints compiled by Greg, however, I have been challenged by a particular person who is in favor of calvin, along with the WOTM preaching methods and style. This somewhat opposes Poonen and his (what I am gathering) arminian beliefs.

See...I care little for calvinism or arminianism (the people may have been likeable...but their follows are like splinters off of a chicken bone).

I just want the truth. I see both sides and how both sides are led, but at the moment I feel as though I am in the middle of traffic.

Throw the scriptures at me and tell me that Jesus is the only way...I know. But we all obviously listen to sermons and these sermons are contradicting.

Thus, the tear...the rip and the pain.

Sorry if I caused tension by posting this article.

Blessings,Brian

2009/6/1 5:32

thomasmMember

Joined: 2007/8/17Posts: 116Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada

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I don't agree nesasarly, with any method, the Holy Spirit convicts our heart of our need for Jesus, and when He does, we either accept or reject the Truth.

I believed in God and Jesus all my life, but I didn't know Him. i was raised Catholic.In my twenties, I was a drunkard foul mouthed, brokenhearted man who hated himself, and really wanted to die, couldn't kill myself, because it was a mortal sin, one night I was at the end of myself, and cry out to God, "God if your real take my life or I will" I wanted Him to strike me dead. Much to my surprise He did take it, but not the way I wanted, it was better. I was instantly changed in a twinkling of a eye, sober, swearing gone, hate for self gone broken heart gone, delivered from alcohol and drugs, full of peace love and joy, preaching the love of God, and Jesus to everyone I met the next day, basically my whole world turned right side up.

No one preached or led me to the Lord, the Holy Spirit came in, when I came to the end of myself.

If someone asks Jesus into their heart good, or if they cry out Jesus save me, who am I to say whether the Holy Spirit Convinced them of their unbelief and need for Jesus, and the righteousness found in Him, It's my job to testify of Gods love that came at the Cross of Christ, not Judge the heart of another.